This Is How We Care

91: How We Become Fluent In Radical Communal Care with Oumou Sylla

Episode Summary

Emily sits down with N. Oumou Sylla — creator of “Radical Mental Health First Aid”, an anti-carceral, consent-centered approach to responding to mental health crisis — to explore what it looks like when an entire community becomes fluent in care. Moving away from the concept of “communal care” and into the practical, we explore real-life scenarios and challenges that can come up. If you long for a culture where care isn’t something you have to pay for, schedule, or outsource, this is an episode for you.

Episode Notes

Emily Race-Newmark sits down with N. Oumou Sylla — creator of “Radical Mental Health First Aid”, an anti-carceral, consent-centered approach to responding to mental health crisis — to explore what it looks like when an entire community becomes fluent in care.

Moving away from the concept of “communal care” and into the practical, we explore real-life scenarios and challenges that can come up, including:

• How to respond to a mental health crisis unfolding in front of you with a stranger
• Navigating the nuance between when we feel “at capacity” and when it’s actually something else  
• How we might move away from the “commodification of hospitality” back towards the village as our birthright
• Why cycles of burnout are commonplace for caregivers and change-makers and what we can do about it
• An expanded, accessible definition for “collective care” to welcome those who feel most comfortable inside of a culture of “individualism”
• The limitations within the current model of 1:1 therapy and self-care
• The behaviors and skills we can model for our children to instill a culture of care into future generations  

If you long for a culture where care isn’t something you have to pay for, schedule, or outsource, this is an episode for you.  

Resources & Links

• Follow Oumou on instagram at @connectwithoumou, sign up for her Newsletter, and support her on Patreon
• Check out Oumou’s website https://www.connectwithoumou.com/ to access Radical Mental Health First Aide and other resources in her shop 
• Access the “Revillaging Path”: a free resource to help you build your village as a new parent 
• Follow @revillagingmama on instagram or sign up for the newsletter to hear when the parent council guide is released

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• Check out other episodes at www.thisishowwecare.com